


Now What?

by Wyattsshoulderholsters



Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Angsty at first, F/M, flangst, jessica is a baddie, or as some like to call it, speculation turned fanfic, then leads to fluff, trapped in the past!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 08:26:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14540706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wyattsshoulderholsters/pseuds/Wyattsshoulderholsters
Summary: Lucy stays in the past for her own protection. Wyatt stays for another reason.





	Now What?

They were not new to the concept of time traveling. Hell, it had been a part of everyday life for them for almost three years now. Jumping from decade to decade had become the norm. This time was different. Wyatt and Lucy were typically the ones inside the Lifeboat. 

With a whoosh and gust of wind their only connection to the present was gone in an instant. It became abundantly clear that this plan had not completely sucken into either Wyatt or Lucy until this moment. Left standing in the middle of an open field staring at the space the Lifeboat occupied just second ago, they shared a solemn glance and both had the same thought in mind… now what? 

With a guarantee of return as soon as the Lifeboat was recharged, Rufus, Jiya, and Flynn had filed in and left them behind. With only the clothes on their backs and a couple of bucks, Lucy and Wyatt slowly walked back to the nearest town. The walk was quiet for the most part. Wyatt tried to make small talk and jokes here and there to occupy the hush that had fallen over the two.

It had been a rocky few weeks between them to say the least. With Jessica brought back into their lives, thier relationship had nose dived into an abyss of Rittenhouse’s making. They shared a small moment in the present when Wyatt planned on telling Lucy about Jessica’s Rittenhouse involvement. They had not had time to finish that conversation before the alarms went off and they were summoned main area of the bunker to prepare for the next mission. The air was thick and awkward between them now. Neither knowing what to say, but knowing something needed to be said. 

They made their way to the Inn they had seen earlier in the day. Upon entering the small room Wyatt huffed, noticing the one bed and a sofa. “Well… I guess I will take the sofa.” 

“Wyatt, why are you here?” Lucy spoke up for the first time in a while and Wyatt glanced at her, confused. Reading his expression, she elaborated. “You could have gone back. There’s four seats. You know that.”

Lucy knew why she had to stay. With a Rittenhouse target on her back, the safest place for her to be is lost in the past. What Lucy couldn’t figure out was why Wyatt wanted to stay, too. 

“And let you stay here by yourself? Like hell I could go back, Lucy.” He sounded almost offended and looked over to her as if in disbelief. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I had to leave you behind.” 

“So what, you’re just here to protect your conscience?” Ouch, yeah he probably deserved that. Wyatt picked himself off the sofa and stood to meet her eye line. Before he could muster any words in response, Lucy spoke back up. “I’m- I’m sorry, Wyatt. I should not have snapped like that. I am just finding it hard to see why you chose to stay here. You know how dangerous it is! What about your life in the present? What about Jessica? I have nothing to go back to, Wyatt, but you.. you have everything you have wanted.” 

There were threats of tears swelling in her eyes now. He wanted nothing more than to cross the space between them and hold her in his arms. Tell her everything will be alright. He hated it when she cried and lately, it had happened more often. He took a step toward her. 

“Lucy, I... “ He started, not quite sure how to put the words together. “I could never leave you, Lucy. You know that.” He paused and his glance shifted down to the floor. “Besides, I don’t have much to go home to actually.” 

“What are you talking about, Wyatt?” Annoyance was not the tone he expected to hear from her. He probably deserved that, too.

“Jessica...” Wyatt looked back to Lucy, guilt plagued his face as Lucy searched his eyes for an explanation. “Jessica is Rittenhouse. Agent Christopher and Mason found files on her from the debris we found at their facility.” 

“How long have you known?” Lucy said after a long pause, taking in the information she had heard. Processing it slowly. 

“A week or so.” Wyatt avoided meeting her eyes again. Lucy sat down on the sofa in thought. The hush that came back over them was almost too much for Wyatt to handle. He moved to sit next to her, looking straight ahead, waiting for her to react. 

“Why didn’t you tell me.” It wasn’t a question. It was demand. Why had Wyatt kept this, of all things, from her?

“Agent Christopher told me to keep it between us and play along while she got more information and pulled together a plan of action. I wanted to tell you, Lucy trust me, but she said that Jessica might have orders to kill you and I wanted you as far from her and the whole situation as possible. I couldn't let her hurt you, Luce.”

Lucy’s eyes flickered to his gaze at the use of the name her that he had only used once, what seemed like eons ago, that night 1941.

“I couldn't let her hurt you.” He repeated, desperately wanting her to understand.

“I appreciate the concern, Wyatt, but you should have told me.” Lucy looked up at him. 

“I know.” Wyatt ducked his head out of her eyeline to hide the emotions he feared were on the verge of spilling. 

He knew he had handled the whole situation poorly with Jessica reappearing back into his life. He had tried to do the right thing, he really did. But somewhere along the way, he and Jessica found themselves back in a rut they had fallen into before. Fights being picked, feelings being hurt, and nights alone. Maybe it was inevitable that they just don’t fit together. Instead, he found himself thinking of Lucy late at night after a long, winded fight with Jessica. He thought of her every time he saw her books scattered in the bunker, caught the smell of her shampoo in the shower, even the sight of tea kettle in the kitchen made him think of her. 

He was ready to end it with Jessica when Agent Christopher had come to him with the news of her involvement with Rittenhouse. He was slightly surprised with this development, but not thrown. Rittenhouse had brought her back for a reason, he should have seen it coming. More than anything though, he was relieved. All he had to do was go along until a plan was made. Play his part. And that led him here. 

“Lucy, I need you to know something.” Wyatt said, breaking the silence. He wanted to tell her everything. “I know I hurt you, but I still care about you. Jessica was a mistake, but even before I knew she was Rittenhouse I knew we were over. I tried to make it work with her, but we were just never a good fit. Not in the past or present. I know that now. The worth part? All I could think about was you and how much I hurt you. Do you think you can ever forgive me?”

Lucy looked up at him. “Wyatt, of course I can forgive you. You were doing what you thought was the right thing. Hell, I even told you to do it. This is just such a sticky situation. It really, really sucks..” she trailed off her thought and looked down at her hands, wringing them. “And obviously, I still care about you, too. I think I just need some time.” 

Wyatt nodded in understanding. “It’s a good thing we have a time machine.” He said, trying to break the tension in the room.

That warranted a chuckle and a smile from Lucy who stood and made her way to the bed. “Goodnight, Wyatt.” 

“Goodnight... ma’am.”   
___  
As promised, the next morning the Rufus and Flynn came to the Inn to find the two they had left behind. Though it had only been a few hours since Lucy and Wyatt had seem them, they looked like hell. 

“We had some... technical difficulties. It’s been a long night.” Rufus explained.

“Yes, when we returned Jessica attempted to take the Lifeboat for joyride to come and kill you, Lucy.” Flynn jumped in. “Wyatt, sorry but your wife is a nutjob. But she is in holding now, so everything is being taken care of.” Flynn flashed Wyatt a grin and very sarcastic thumbs up. 

“Who’s ready to go home?” Rufus asked and that spurred a ‘hell yes’ out of Wyatt. They made their way back to the Lifeboat that was sitting in the same open field they had seen it disappear from yesterday and climbed inside. With another whoosh, they were back in the present. 

Wyatt and Lucy were the last in the Lifeboat. Wyatt looked down and realized that at some point in the jump, he must have reached for her because he was still holding her hand tightly. He looked at her and saw her cheeks slightly flushed. Releasing her hand, the two shared an awkward moment, complete with a blushing Lucy.

Then Lucy laughed. Not just a little chuckle, but a real laugh. Enough to make Wyatt's heart jump over the moon. One that he swore made the room brighter. One that was contagious and made him smile like an idiot. He had only heard such a glorious sound once before, in a time that felt so long ago, beside a pool in 1941. 

They exited the Lifeboat and Wyatt made his way to the rooms to change out of the vintage wear he had stolen in the past. He was stopped dead in his tracks by a hand on his shoulder. He turned around just in time to catch Lucy as she hugged him with everything she had. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders as she nestled her head into his shoulder. His hands naturally went to cradle the back of her head and pull her in closer to him. They had fallen back into their rhythm and he never wanted to let her go.

“I just need a little time... Sweetheart.”

“Anything you need... Babydoll.”

If she needed time, he was prepared to give her a much time as she needed. He had never been so sure about anything in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> (*Disclaimer, I do not own any of the Timeless characters. I just love them very much.*)  
> A huge thank you to Stina (loganprestons/interstellarbeams) for being a guinea pig on this one! What started out as speculation for the finale turned into a oneshot, oops.


End file.
